I do feel the pain of squads that are having a difficult time in wars. Playing with a test Empire base that is at level 5 and leveling up to HQ 6, my brother and I have hopped through a few squads and been in wars with the Empire squads. My brother has also jumped to various rebel squads to recruit. There are a lot of casual squads that have very little chance in wars vs. competitive squads because of the time investment. War records would need to be factored in, along with base score and troop strength to get to fair matchups. HQ alone will rarely tell you who is better or who is favored. I also suspect there are very few squads not matched up at any given time, which means a potentially long wait like days, if the matchmaking bandwidth was tightened.

Our Empire squad that we settled on for now, is a casual squad. We are in luck if we have two players on at the start of a war vs. the 6-8 that our competitive rebel squad typically has at the start. The Empire squad is always in a 20-30 point hole within the first hour or two. Our Rebel squad has gone up 45-0 in the first hour vs squads that are actually favorites on paper, because only 2-3 players from the other side showed up in the first hour.

In our current Empire war, we are behind by 30 points. The matchup is even on paper. 2 Prestige, 2 10's, 7 9's, 2 8's, and a mix of 6's and 7's. The opponent is 50-12-3 in wars and our Empire squad that we just joined is 134-103-10. Our opponent was synced and active and we could rarely even get units donated without waiting an hour for another teammate to show up or the one on line to be prodded into giving units. Almost zero communication and no overall strategy and matchup discussions. Not surprising we loss.

Since our squad make up is probably a little high, but most likely within range of people having matchup issues, I wanted to recap the records of our opponents and noted the number of Prestige, level 10, level 9, and level 8 players. I did not list the total level 2-6 for this comparison. We usually go to war with 6 Prestige, a level 10, 6 level 8's, 1 level 7 and a level 6 on the weekends. Mid week we war with all level 3-9 with one or two Prestige bases. That is why our matchups fluctuate so much. You can probably tell from the number of prestige bases our opponents had, when we had our best lineup in. The biggest surprise was only 3 of our last 20 matchups had losing records. The rest had winning records. They are beating up on someone.

War records of opponents (Empire Squads) and general squad composition:

I think real data always helps in discussions. I will also note that if you launch a war after 6pm EST in the US, and you get a matchup in 6 hours or less, you will probably face a stacked lineup of Prestige bases. At least that has been my experience.

Low the number of players to 10. On Windows we started with only 5, almost a year after, it went to 15. 10 is a perfect number, as in theory you only need 5 high good players to reach 45, the others can help fighting for OPs.

With 10, we will have more squads available when matchmaking start, less waiting time, less mismatches. More squads doing more wars per week. The first squad to reach 45 is the winner. No more frustrating Tako draws. And any squad will be able to start another war immediately.

And I keep my thought about a "Revenge" option for the defeated.

A Windows survivor now training players and helping squads through the Galaxy!

How about...a "Scrimmages" mode that's pared way down: 5 bases, 30 minute wager window, 1 hour to plan, 1 hour to play, no outposts, a mirror of your main base, 2 attacks each, and an invitation option (for opponents) that times-out during the 30 minute wager window if there's no response. If your base is hundied on your opponent's first attempt on your base before you can use both of your attacks, you are penalized one of your two attacks (mainly to stimulate speed, for the sake of encouraging crystaling... trying to appeal to the greed of the devs while also raising the stakes for the squads)

Rewards are 4 "purple fragments" or each player can activate a multiplier if you wager (blind) some of your current frags, crates, or crystals (devs choice). Scrimmages are limited, per player, to once every other day per (6 theoretical scrimmages every two days if every squad mate participates).

I like the 10 player option. The first to 45 I think would increase the number of lopsided wins. Win\Loss records of strength of schedule needs to be factored in it you want squads of equal skill matched up. HQ and even base scores do not equal skill.

I would suggest the following:

* If you are just venting on this thread, note just venting.* If you want some suggestions to really help matchups, note your squad name, so we can review the facts on ksod. Faction, squad makeup, played activity, opponents records, etc all have an impact.* When selecting your war squad, consider this. An inactive level 3 might be a better option than a low skilled level 9 or 10. The level 9 or 10 draws a similar base in the matchup process in theory. Much easier to make up the difference of a bad 3 than a bad 10.* Be sure you have minimum 6 good players. One to hold Tako or Tat, the others to score 45.

Chip, there have been other threads where the how-to-improve-war comments have landed but since I think about that particular topics way to much - and you asked - I'll give a reply . On selecting "Start a War" I'd like to be able to choose Sullest (where everything is as it is now) or a new location, call it Planet X. Planet X is introduced as on the Outer Rim, where we are warned we'll be on our own, no outpost support from our faction, limited allies to assist and limited firepower, and where some outpost commanders have been asking for us my name, so MTFBWY. So, Planet X wars are 5x5. Same matchmaking protocol, same 24 hour to scout and 24 hour to attack, no OP and 1 attack for each of the 5. If you draw, everyone was perfect, otherwise the score is the score. This is maybe where I'd put the challenge idea I love. Once I choose my 5 I can elect to spend crystals to challenge another squad who may then accept the challenge (w/in 24 hours, choose its 5, and we go to war). Now something like that my squad could do during the week (we all have jobs). Come home plot my attack and go. Save the regular team wars with the necessary coordination for the weekends.

SpaceDandy wrote:Chip, there have been other threads where the how-to-improve-war comments have landed but since I think about that particular topics way to much - and you asked - I'll give a reply . On selecting "Start a War" I'd like to be able to choose Sullest (where everything is as it is now) or a new location, call it Planet X. Planet X is introduced as on the Outer Rim, where we are warned we'll be on our own, no outpost support from our faction, limited allies to assist and limited firepower, and where some outpost commanders have been asking for us my name, so MTFBWY. So, Planet X wars are 5x5. Same matchmaking protocol, same 24 hour to scout and 24 hour to attack, no OP and 1 attack for each of the 5. If you draw, everyone was perfect, otherwise the score is the score. This is maybe where I'd put the challenge idea I love. Once I choose my 5 I can elect to spend crystals to challenge another squad who may then accept the challenge (w/in 24 hours, choose its 5, and we go to war). Now something like that my squad could do during the week (we all have jobs). Come home plot my attack and go. Save the regular team wars with the necessary coordination for the weekends.

We are up 45-5 mid way through the war matchup I just posted yesterday. We had 2 Prestige, 2 level 8's and a level 7 on at the start of the war. The level 7 took Tatooine, and the level 8's took Yavin and Dandoran. Tatooine is the critical outpost, even for rebels. The other squad did not show up in the first 30 minutes, so we had free reign. Our 2 Prestige players took out 3 of the opponents Prestige bases and 3 of the level 10's. Our level 8 took out the other Prestige base, which was really a level 9/10 with a rushed HQ and research center and he also took out 2 level 9 bases. The level 7 then took out a level 8 base and retook Tatooine when one our opponents players showed up. He was all alone, unfortunately for them, so we were up 39-0 within an hour. This morning a few more of our guys jumped on and got us to 45.

In between, we have been taking back the outposts, so we hold all 3 outposts at this time. They still have 37 attacks left, so this is far from over, but they did get impatient and attacked 4 times without the outposts. You can't waste bullets in a war, when you have a set amount of ammo. I suspect this will end up much closer. At some point, we will run out of attacks and they will be able to close the gap. I think we hold on though.

Tip for rebel squads - Takondana wars are easy, since Jets are so OP with Tako. However, when Tatooine is play, focus the load outs on max level Repulsors and any level A5. Other vehicles work, but we found the best bang for the buck with those units, given the damage vs. capacity considerations. Even a level 1 A5 does a lot of damage with Tatooine. The little used repulsor becomes the Incredible Hulk with Tatooine. With the 7 unit capacity, the thought process is that it's a slow buffed jet. You just need to adjust to the speed issue, by managing the deployment and space them out and get them to meet at HQ. There are also other tricks you can use with starships, but that's for another thread.

I also tend to load a bike or two, to counter LAAT's or for sc jumps. The repulsors will also make quick work of sc troops, as long as you time the deployment properly. You don't want the repulsor locking on a structure first. Then it's a sitting duck. If the opponent has ground troops like snipers, just draw them out with a Luke trap and Fang them. The other option is to draw them out and ambush them. Once sc troops are cleared, just attack the base from all directions. I also load a Tog. I use a med as bait or to back the Tog, depending on the layout. The Tog can also be used to make quick work of the Deka's. I also pack 3-4 infiltrators if needed and 3 vanguards. The vans clear the way for the repulsors and A5's. Not a concern when you have jets and Tako. The squad center on attacks is all repulsors or A5's, but with Tatooine so OP, we rarely use sc help. It's a security blanket when the repulsors or A5's get out of position. I always make sure I keep a repulsor or two on hold, to see how the attack plays out, and then deploy them where needed.

The final was 45-23. Our level 7, 8 and 9 players are a good group. They allow our level 10 and Prestige players enough opportunities to 3 star our opponent bases. They get the outpost game within a game.